The invention relates generally to connectors of the type used in the handling and administration of parenteral fluids, and more particularly, to a vial adapter having a sharp cannula for piercing a vial closure, a shroud protecting an operator from inadvertent puncture by the sharp cannula, and a valved connector opposite the sharp cannula for connection to another device for fluid flow.
Access ports for injecting fluid into or removing fluid from a system, such as a drug vial, are well known and widely used. Conventional injection sites in drug vials generally involve a pierceable rubber stopper formed of an elastomeric material such as butyl rubber or the like, placed in the opening of the vial. A closure, typically formed of metal, is crimped over the rubber stopper and the flange of the vial to positively hold the stopper in place in the opening of the vial. The closure has an outer size, known as a “finish size.” The closure also has an opening, or access port, through which the stopper and the vial opening may be accessed. A sharp cannula is inserted into the access port piercing the rubber stopper to position the distal, open end of the cannula past the rubber stopper to make fluid connection with the interior of the vial.
Adapters have been found useful in that they can adapt the sharpened cannula that is placed into fluid communication with the vial to the connection device of another fluid container or fluid conduction device. For example, the adapter may include a female Luer fitting opposite the sharpened cannula to receive the nozzle of a syringe. The “adapter” therefore adapts the vial to the syringe, or adapts the sharpened cannula to the Luer-shaped nozzle of the syringe.
It has also been found useful to provide a means to attach or anchor the adapter to the vial to hold it in place while fluid communication between the vial and another device proceeds so that inadvertent disengagement of the adapter from the vial does not occur. For example, the adapter may have two arms that engage the neck or flange of the vial and hold the adapter in place on the vial. Other means include a shroud that fits around the outside of the vial closure and snaps onto the vial closure under the crimped retaining cap thereby grasping the vial neck flange and the underside of the closure.
It has also been found useful to have a valve placed in the adapter. The valved adapter permits engagement of the sharpened cannula with the contents of the vial without leakage of fluid from the vial through the adapter. Then when the second fluid device has been prepared, it can be connected to the adapter thereby activating the valve that then permits fluid flow between the vial and second device. One approach used today is to have two parts to result in a valved vial adapter. The vial adapter includes a sharpened cannula to pierce the stopper of a vial, and the other end of the adapter includes a female Luer connector. At the female Luer connector, a valve device having a male connector at one end is attached. While the vial adapter is then “valved,” two parts were necessary to do so. It would be desirable to have a single part that not only adapts the vial to a blunt cannula, but one that also interposes a valve in between. Manufacturers of such medical devices strive for effective and reliable devices yet desire to keep costs as low as possible.
However, some of the existing adapters available today suffer from various shortcomings. For example, most adapters are designed to function only on a single vial closure finish size. These adapters do not securely attach to vial closures with diameters smaller or larger than vial closure finish sizes they are primarily molded to fit. They are therefore not usable on vials of other sizes. In addition, some vial adapters do not adequately protect an operator from inadvertent puncture of the operator's skin by the sharpened cannula of the adapter. The shroud or vial engagement device does not extend completely over the sharpened cannula, thus exposing operators to possible puncture.
Accompanying this limitation of functioning with only a single size of vial, a further consideration is the expense to hospitals or other medical facilities caused by having to stock numerous types and sizes of adapters. Vials of many flange sizes and closure sizes are available and are frequently found in medical care facilities. Typically a hospital must stock a variety of adapters to be assured of having the correct adapter available that will properly interconnect with the multiple vial closures that exist. If a hospital must maintain a stock of adapters for each possible size of closure, a logistical problem as well as increased expense can result. Two common sizes of vial closures are 13 mm vial closures and 20 mm vial closures. Reducing the number of adapters that must be stocked in a hospital can significantly lessen the problems with stocking the correct sizes and can reduce expenses.
It has also been a trend in recent years to provide needle-free valve devices in an effort to lower the risk of inadvertent punctures of health care personnel by sharpened devices. More recently, connectors or adapters for accommodating the injection and withdrawal of fluids without the use of sharp cannulas have been put to use in increasing numbers. This is due, at least in part, to concern regarding the possibility of the transmission of blood-borne diseases through accidental needle punctures of persons handling the sharp cannulas. Connectors having as few sharpened surfaces as possible are desirable because such hazard is thereby lessened.
Furthermore, it is desirable that needle-fee connectors be configured so that they can be easily cleaned by an antiseptic wipe, or otherwise sterilized, prior to making a connection. All exterior surfaces that may be involved in the transmission of fluid should be readily available for cleaning prior to the connection being made. Some prior connectors have a small rift or fissure defined by a clearance between parts. Such a feature is difficult and inconvenient to clean in attempting to sterilize a connector. Alternatively, connectors requiring a cap to maintain a sterile connection port prior to use are undesirable because the extra steps involved in removing and replacing a cap are inconvenient, while the manufacture of the cap adds expense.
Thus it would be desirable to provide a needle-free connector as part of the valve that is included in the adapter discussed above. This approach would increase safety for medical personnel who handle the adapter. Although certain vial adapters exist that can accommodate multiple sizes of vial closure finishes, a practical way to accommodate the large vial finish sizes is needed. Where a vial adapter is used to connect to both large and small vial finish sizes, the arms used for the small finish sizes must move out of the way when a large finish size must be accommodated. Arms that merely bend out of the way in such an application of the adapter can still exert relatively large pressure on the vial and tend to expel the vial from the adapter. Thus the small arms of such adapters work to retain the adapter to the vial while the longer arms work to separate the adapter from the vial. As is obvious, such an arrangement is undesirable. It is also undesirable to provide large arms that simply break away when encountering large finish sizes as then there would be small loose plastic parts that are not controlled. On the other hand, attempting to design break-away arms can increase expense as the arms must be designed to withstand a certain amount of force with the small vial finish sizes yet break away with the large vial finish sizes.
Hence, those concerned with the development of medical adapters have recognized the need for a single adapter that is usable with vials of different sizes. There has also been recognized a need for a protection device to be located around the sharpened cannula of such an adapter to protect operators from inadvertent punctures of their skin. Further, a need has been recognized for an adapter that can interconnect a vial with another fluid flow device by means of a needle-free valve so that sharpened needles are not needed that may also cause inadvertent needle punctures of operators. Further, a need has been recognized for a valve that is integral to the vial adapter. The invention fulfills these needs and others.